Gladius SFV 650

Salut Gladius Riders

As promised in my "newbie" post i will show you how my new seat was produced by a local upholsterer not far from where I live. So read on riders.....

While at a workshop during the middle of March I met a Yamaha Fino scooter rider who had an impressive seat in two colours of leather and buttoned. I enquired if stock and was told it was made by a man in Liloan, a small town just outside Cebu City. I got an approximate location and a few days later off I went with a copy of the seat I found on the internet and wanted for my own Gladius. I'm sure many riders have found their own seat hellish for any long journey and a nightmare when a passenger is onboard.

I found Joseph (Boboy) whose shop is very small and somewhat difficult to spot off the highway and beach.

After showing him my picture and bike. We discussed the process and price. This included new motorcycle foams, reshaping, leather (3 colours), sewing and labour. I left him a deposit for buying the leather and finally returned a few weeks later for it to be worked on.

The whole process took around 3.5 hours and he did everything by hand and foot pedal sewing machine. The tools he used included a hacksaw blade, wood saw, smelly glue, nylon string, wire and even a thin bamboo stick.

See the process he took in the photos below. I'm sure you all will be impressed with the final result. If you want to know the full price for this labour intensive job just scroll to the end.


Stripping my old seat foam and cover.


Adding and shaping the new foam.


Cutting leather shapes and sewing together.


Fitting the cover to the foam and seat base.


The Old and the New.

The total price for this was €15 and €3.5 tip!

Salut!

Nice job!

And in France, it would be 20 times the price

ça à l'air un peu anguleux quand même...ce n'est pas aussi bien fait que chez nous...

I'm very impressed and it's really low cost in your country

Job well done to the upholsterer

ErwanBZH35 a écrit :ça à l'air un peu anguleux quand même...ce n'est pas aussi bien fait que chez nous...

I possibly agree with what you say that it is not as good as what is manufactured in a high-tech facility in France, Europe or the USA. But you have to consider that the upholsterer created this by cutting pieces of foam then shaping it, by hand, with a hacksaw blade, a wood saw, a pair of scissors and glue. Then he shaped the leather with a ballpoint pen and cut the shapes out with hand scissors before finally stitching together on a sewing machine powered by his feet.

He did all this by eye. No electronic equipment or computer to cut out the leather shapes and another shaping the foam. This was all done in a small shack by the side of the road.

Hopefully you can now see why I think its an impressive job well done.

Salut!

really impressive job!

Tonton a écrit :Il serait pas venu ici pour nous vendre ses selles ?...

Tonton a écrit :Il serait pas venu ici pour nous vendre ses selles ?...

Non.

Il est réellement proprio' d'une Glad' (ici)

C'est un peu "dingue" tout ce qu'on peut trouver sur sa vie sur Google à cause de son pseudo trop "original"... Enfin bon, c'est lui qui voit...

---

I agree with Erwan: finishing touches don't look very pretty (too rough-and-ready, for my liking: not enough stretched on the front, too thick on the "sandbag"* rear). And, but maybe I'm wrong, I think French/US hand-made saddlers work as you describe the method. The difference lies in the fact they have more skills (due to their experience) than somebody who do a lot of different things.

For the price, it's impossible to compare: cost of living is very different in the Philippines and in France or in the USA.

I think the main interest, for somebody having an occidental bank account in that kind of country, is he can often change the look of his motorcycle. 'could be funny.

*passenger

I do not agree with Erwan. I find the end result very successful and very attractive. What is surprising it is the passenger seat which is very heightened. This is perhaps why Erwan critic the angular side. But the passenger should feel very comfortable !
I I have a seat made in factory, and the clips scratch my tank ... then...

In my opinion this seat looks like comfortable and it is a good color choice

Thibault a écrit :
C'est un peu "dingue" tout ce qu'on peut trouver sur sa vie sur Google à cause de son pseudo trop "original"... Enfin bon, c'est lui qui voit...

Je confirme ...

krisbubble a écrit :What is surprising it is the passenger seat which is very heightened. This is perhaps why Erwan critic the angular side.

It's exactely my feelings!

But the passenger should feel very comfortable !

True! But I'm a French kéké, so I prefer give priority on the look than on the practical options.

Tonton a écrit :

krisbubble a écrit :I do not agree with Erwan.

Non, sans blague ?...

bah au moins ça change de d'habitude, c'est écrit en anglais

Attention au HS

zonzon a écrit :

Tonton a écrit :

krisbubble a écrit :I do not agree with Erwan.

Non, sans blague ?...

bah au moins ça change de d'habitude, c'est écrit en anglais

Elle pourrait bien aller sur la moto de Sulu!

Kris could show you some pics of french Gladius tuning...

Attention au HS (deuxième fois)